Just thought I would share this article here... I think this is
well written!
http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/10/29/casinos-are-the-bane-of-singapore/
In
2005, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the cabinet’s
decision to build not one but two “integrated resorts”. This
decision was met with widespread criticism from the public and
religious groups. However, PM Lee stated that “As Prime Minister, I
carry the ultimate responsibility for the decision”.
5
years later, the casinos were open. Initially, busloads of people
visited the casinos, most of them foreigners.
When
I visited the casinos recently, I discovered that 80% of the cars
in the Resorts World Sentosa car park were Singapore registered
vehicles. One of the
main objectives of the casinos was to boost tourism as well as
create new jobs for Singaporeans.
However, I also noticed that most of the
staff employed at the casinos, restaurants, hotels and theme park
were foreigners. Therefore, the casinos did not really create much
jobs for Singaporeans. What percentage of the staff at the
integrated resorts are actually Singaporeans? What’s more, the
higher level jobs such as Pit Bosses are usually
foreigners.
I am a
young working adult and even on a personal level, the casinos have
affected me greatly. My parents are compulsive gamblers who have
purchased the annual levy every year since they opened. And I
rarely get to see them any more, as they visit the casinos as many
as six to seven times in a week. They neglect their jobs and are
only interested in gambling. I have tried to counsel them but they
were very stubborn and unrelenting. To date, they have each lost
more than 50,000 dollars at the casinos.
I
strongly feel that there needs to be more safeguards to limit the
damage caused by the casinos operating in Singapore. The current
measures put in place are grossly inadequate. For example, the
government should limit the number of times that Singaporeans can
visit the casinos to for example, eight times per month. The reason
for this is that there are people who are going to the casinos
almost every day and neglecting the families and work. These need
to be put in place as soon as possible, before it is too
late.
The
day levy of 100 dollars is also counter productive. As a result of
trying to recoup the fee, gamblers would bet bigger amounts. It
also creates an unfair environment for Singaporeans, as foreigners
are not subjected to this entry fee. As a result of the day levy
being 24 hours, Singaporeans would purchase the levy after work,
gamble till midnight, skip work the next day just to utilise the
full 24 hours.
Secondly, the government has not been very
transparent about the negative impact of the casinos in Singapore.
Based on some investigation and insider information from staff,
there have been a number of suicides related to the casinos that
were unreported. For Singaporeans who might be considering staying
in the resort hotels, do bear in mind that some of the rooms are
not “clean”. During a stay at one of the hotels at one of the
casinos, we could hear knocking sounds in the walls throughout the
night. Besides these, there have been a sudden increase in suicides
in Singapore this year, such as drownings at Bedok Reservoir, MRT
tracks and jumping cases. I wonder how many of them are possibly
gambling related…
There
have also been multiple stories of families that were ruined by
breakups, suicides or bankruptcy that were not reported in the
mainstream media. The internet can provide some clues. Although the
casinos did not force anyone to enter and gamble, by making it so
easily accessible to Singaporeans, it basically tempts people to go
in and try their luck. The newspapers only report the news of only
Singaporeans such as the hawker who won 400k at MBS. This only
serves to make people think that it is easy to make money at the
casinos. However, I know of rich people who have lost millions at
the casinos in a week as well as middle class people who have lost
their life savings gambling, and had to sell their homes just to
feed their family.
Yes,
although there are a few lucky ones who have won, but overall, 8
out of 10 people have lost money there. In 2011, the revenue of MBS
and RWS was 2.3 billion and 2.6 billion respectively. Note that
this is not revenue for Singapore. In the casino, I overheard a
conversation between two elderly women in Hokkien that one of their
relatives was addicted to gambling. They borrowed money from both
loan sharks and licensed moneylenders. Being unable to pay their
mounting debts, the parents “ran road” and left their children
behind to fend for themselves. I hope this story isn’t true as I
really pity the poor children.
One
day on the way to work, while taking the train on the circle line,
I overheard two Singaporean uncles chatting:
(Sic)
“Today, I feeling lucky. I think today sure win
big”
“You
sure? How come?”
“Last night I dreamt that I win a lot of
money.”
“Wah. Win already treat me dinner ah.”
“Ok
no problem, if I win big, abalone and sharks fin also
can!”
I
hope he had enough money to return home. More safeguards are needed
to protect Singaporean families from the vice of casino
gambling.
A)
Limiting the number of visits by Singaporeans to a maximum of eight
times a month. In order to visit the casinos beyond that limit,
they have to submit proof of their financial stability to the
regulatory authority for approval.
B)
Implementing closing hours for the casino (between 4am to 6 am) so
that people would not gamble non-stop for days on end without
sleeping and fainting in the casino.
C)
Reduce the levy from 100 dollars for 24 hours to 100 dollars for 12
hours. This is because the 24 hours hour levy encourages people to
stay longer at the casinos and as a result, lose more
money.
D)
Scrap the annual levy at the casinos. The annual levy
actually encourages Singaporeans to visit the casinos very often as
they can enter whenever they like. Each time Singaporeans visit the
casinos, they should have to pay the entry levy.
E) The
current proposed safeguards only serve to protect those who are
clearly at risk, such as undischarged bankrupts or those on
financial aid. However, those people who are earning a low salary
below 1500 dollars have little money to spare, and probably no
savings. Therefore, only people who have a certain level of income
should be allowed to visit the casinos more than a certain number
of times per month.
F)
Better management of crime related activities at the casinos. My
male friends as well as myself have witnessed multiple instance as
well as been approached by foreign women offering “special
services”.
G)
There are also other forms of vice there, such as stealing other
people’s chips, mobile phones, handbags, fraud and claiming other
people’s winnings.
H)
Poor security measures at the casinos. There have been people who
used other people’s identity cards to enter the casino.
I)
Allow family members, relatives, employers to have greater ability
to apply for exclusion for someone that they know that is at a risk
for gambling. For example, currently, children of problem gamblers
find it hard to apply for exclusion for their parents as their
parents would warn them not to.
J)
Parents leave their children waiting outside the casino with
nothing to do. I saw children sitting down on the floor outside the
casinos looking bored. Two hours later, they were still
there.
K)
The casinos’ impact on Singaporeans’ lives needs to be better
studied.
L)
The government should release the employment figures of the ratio
of Singaporeans and PRs employed versus the foreigners.
M)
Overall, I feel that the casinos and integrated resorts have
brought more disadvantages than advantages for
Singapore.
Problems such as proxy gambling have also cropped
up. Employers send their foreign workers to the casinos to gamble
on their behalf. These foreign workers are being exploited by their
unscrupulous employers who even dock their salary when they lose
money. The government needs to acknowledge that there have been
shortcomings on their part and not claim that things are “well
managed” and “under control”.
Nowadays, instead of spending time with their
families, religious places or sports, gambling is becoming the new
national pastime of many adult Singaporeans. Is Singapore becoming
a SIN city? Should the casinos be shut down for good? I think that
as a government, you cannot only look at GDP and ignore the social
problems. Otherwise, you would be operating as a profit oriented
company, Singapore Private Limited.
The
three buildings of MBS were said to be inspired by card decks.
However, to me, they may very well represent three tombstones for
Singapore if they are not managed appropriately. And the boat? I
think it represents Singaporeans’ hard earned money being shipped
away. I can only hope for the best for Singapore.
